- COVID and Fire Tour 2020 — Introduction
- A quick stop at Mt. Rainier
- A short visit to Mt. Hood
- An interesting (and largely eventful) time at Newberry National Volcanic Monument
- Lava Beds National Monument
- Fire Evasion!
- Avoiding Vegas — and loving it!
- Kickin’ Route 66 and the Grand Canyon
- Migration — Communities that share the land on their way to somewhere (like us!)
- Red Rockin’ Utah’s (and a little of Arizona’s) National Parks and Monuments
- The journey home and final thoughts
There were lots of things that we wanted to see around Las Vegas, without actually going there (too many crowds and unmasked people). Our first stop was the second of our “discoveries” during the trip re-plan — Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. The first clue that this was not going to go well is that neither Google Maps nor Apple Maps could accurately get us there. When we did arrive, there was a small sign kiosk talking about the area, everything would see, etc. — but that’s it! We had to jump a fence to get in and wandering around a lot of sandstone formations, but nothing was obvious or marked. We ultimately went back to the kiosk and saw that there was another unit (Ice Age Fossils State Park), so we went over to check it out. Based on automated directions, that place is now in the middle of a new housing development under construction. Needless to say, we were kind of bummed out. We later learned that this national monument is in it’s very early days and the only way to explore it is on a guided expedition. Ah well!
Red Rock Canyon is a beautiful area within 5 miles of some of the outskirt neighborhoods of Vegas. It’s a National Conservation Area administered by BLM. There is a great Scenic Drive around the park that gives you a sense of both the geologic diversity and grandeur that is represented here. As you climb, you also get some interesting views of the city just beyond. As far as hiking is concerned, there are lots of trails, but most tend to be moderate or difficult and are back-country, requiring several hours to do them. Since we had neither the time nor inclination to do those, we took one of the “easy” trails to find an advertised petroglyph wall. I would offer an observation here — their trail maps and signage along the trails suck! We ended up on the wrong trail twice! The trails were also very rocky and steep. That would be okay if we had prepared for that. At one point, Deb and I took different splits in the trail to try to find those pesky petroglyphs — neither one of us ever did. What I did, however, was started climbing at an increasingly steep angle, scrambling over rocks. I then saw a sign ahead that wasn’t directions to the petroglyphs; it was a notice that I was at their wilderness boundary! I finally made it down and we decided to give up our quest. I should mention that we stayed a couple of nights at the Red Rock Campground and recommend it highly — spacious sites, very clean, and convenient to the park.
The next day we decided to drive about 1.5 hours out of the city to the Valley of Fire State Park. It turns out that this was the first state park in Nevada, built to protect all of the natural and cultural features that were there. We really loved this place! Most of the features of the park are readily accessible by car or short hike. The formations for the most part are red rock in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are also lots of petroglyphs here. Given that the valley is fairly well protected from the elements, it’s not surprising that is was occupied for such a long period (300 BC-1150 AD), including the Basket Maker people and later the Anasazi that farmed the nearby Moapa Valley. We were amazed at both the numbers and diversity of the petroglyphs themselves. Many would be recognizable to fans of Southwest rock art but, once again, there were some that we didn’t recognize and couldn’t understand. We also came across a herd of Bighorn Sheep grazing their way along. At both parks, we kept seeing warning signs about the desert tortoise. They are protected under state law. Sadly, we didn’t see any.
Anyway, this was a pleasant stay. The temperature never got above 91 F (it’s a dry heat…) and cooled off very nicely at night. Today we are heading down to Williams, AZ and will spend some time at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
This entry was posted in National Park/Monument, Nevada, Travel, United States
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
